March 2008
by DateMe
Summary: Entries for the fanfiction section of the March contest. Entries listed in order of submission. Challenge: Triangulation, Pairing: Multiple Hinata!Triangles.
1. Eve of the Blood Moon by Fatcat648

**Title:** Eve of the Blood Moon  
**Author:** Fatcat648  
**Rating:** PG-13 ( T )  
**Challenge: **Triangulation  
**Pairing:** SasuHinaNaru

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, please visit our homepage on DeviantArt for directions to the original post.

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The stain appeared as a rusty blood-red on the light purple kimono fabric, eliciting a horrified gasp from the wide-eyed Hyuuga Hinata. The wine glass clumsily rolled off the clothed table, shattering to pieces as she jumped straight out of her chair. She reached for a napkin but her companion was faster, dabbing at the dripping fabric all the while repeating a guilty apology.

"Gah! I'm so clumsy Hinata-chan! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" jittered Uzumaki Naruto, furiously trying to clean up his mess.

However Hinata felt herself a little too breathless to answer her frantic date as his close proximity gave her chills and a shock similar to a deer caught in the headlights. His thick blonde hair brushed tantalizingly close to her skin and her eyes felt drawn to those lips that wouldn't stop apologizing. Yet the moment only lasted a second before Naruto waved a clueless hand in her dazed tomato-hued face to catch her attention.

She stuttered incoherent sounds to catch her breathe.

"Geez Hinata-chan, I'm sorry I ruined tonight for you. I know it's been so long since we've been able to go on a date but I guess I'm kinda out of it tonight. I'm sorry," he said, sky blue eyes cast downwards in remorse, his hands shaking slightly as they picked up the broken shards.

Her heart softened and shyly she lifted his chin to look deep in his eyes as she spoke, "No Naruto-kun. P-please don't b-blame yourself. T-tonight may not have been p-perfect but the important thing is that I'm h-here with you."

His face exploded into a grin at her words and Hinata found a small smile to share with him too. His tanned hands cupped her face, tilting her gaze to spill unto his own inching closer to her face. A warm and lethargic spell overtook the moment and dazedly Hinata heard Naruto growl, "Wow, you're so beautiful. And you smell so… delicious."

Hinata's eyelids fluttered to a close when an electric bolt froze her movements. A hot searing pair of scarlet eyes glared hostilely at her, drawing her attention to the shadow that encompassed it. Her moon dipped eyes pulled to the shadow but the eyes were gone – swallowed by the inky darkness cast by the night.

Her brow knitted in confusion at the sight when she felt Naruto's lips kiss her unguarded cheek. Her hand immediately cupped the blushing skin as she blinked at a sheepish Naruto, coughing awkwardly to hide his failed attempt.

"Uh, you ready to er.. leave, Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto, idly scratching his head.

She nodded distractedly, her eyes still straying to the unmoving shadow behind them. Naruto heaved a disappointed sigh and rummaged through his pockets to find his wallet. When all he pulled from his pocket was lint, Naruto felt the evening hit an all-time low and nervously called out, "Er.. Hinata-chan? I can't seem to er… find my wallet."

The street lights the couple walked under were flickering erratically as strong winds pulled and pinched their clothes and hair. Hinata attempted to tuck herself in closer behind Naruto when the wind blew so hard she was force to release his hand or be blown down. For a moment her eyes caught sight of a laughing woman clutching a body-sized fan before the figure disappeared.

She blinked at the flickering lights and wondered tiredly if maybe she was going mad. Several times on the trip home, strange people had darted at the edge of her vision – all of them wearing painted white masks of animals. However none of the hallucinations she had so far were of the scarlet searing eyes she'd seen at the restaurant.

"Ack! Hinata-chan! Where are you!?"

She quickly shook her head from her thoughts and tried to call out to Naruto who was slowly disappearing behind a corner.

"N-Naruto-kun! W-wait for me!" she cried out. Nonetheless the strong wind carried her voice away from the blonde ignorantly turning the corner while calling out her name. Her feet pattered on the streets, but the kimono made it difficult to run and before she knew it, Naruto was no longer in sight.

She chewed on her bottom lip, looking around the area to recognize anything familiar when laughter echoed the deserted street. Chills crawled through her trembling legs as her eyes darted around in fear.

"W-w-who's there?"

The laugher grew in momentum and was soon followed by the slow sound of shoes slapping the asphalt of the street. The streetlight she stood under flickered to an end, leaving Hinata in total darkness and silence.

The laughter had stopped.

All she could hear was her own labored breathing and the crunching of shoes that stood a mere foot away from her.

"Who are you? S-show yourself!" she called out, clutching her purse tightly.

The presence took a step closer. Her ears attuned to the sound of another person breathing softly when a hand brushed her hair causing her to jump back.

"Don't touch me!" she cried.

A low deep chuckle – purely male – responded.

Hinata's eyes darted to the chuckle's source, staring hard in the darkness to make out a person. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the thick darkness and she found herself staring at a young pale man, skin as white as snow. A white mask of a snake covered a majority of his face but she could still make out his eyes reflecting blood while his hair strewed thick ebony bangs upon his head. And yet the smirk echoing in his tone sent shivers and a warning in her mind.

Especially with the way his eyes gleaned in the cloudy night.

Those were the same eyes she'd seen glaring at her in the restaurant. She watched as he pulled the mask down to allow her to see his whole face.

She almost stopped breathing at that moment.

His marble skin was smooth and slopped sharply to define strong cheeks and an arrogant nose. He was entirely beautiful – inhumanly so. And yet, she felt an oddly familiar feeling well inside her at the sight of the young man. Had she known him before?

"Ah, so you can see me now," he spoke. His very words wove a clear musical tone, casting a spell that caught her eyes upon his bloody red pupils. He approached at a leisurely pace, every step graceful and cautious when his hand reached out to smooth her hair behind her ears.

"Tell me woman, are you afraid?" his long fingers wrapped around her chin.

Hinata felt her whole body trembled as her voice cracked, "W-What do you want with me?"

His lips held a bruising purple hue in their smirk as he released her face and took a step backwards to look her up and down. "Well personally, I want nothing of you nor could I care less what they do to you but since I'm being paid, I'm here to protect you," he said in an utterly bored tone.

The tension broke from her shoulders as confusion hit her hard.

"P-protect me? F-from who?"

"From the creatures who want to kill you. And don't stutter."

His blunt words left her silent and stunned.

"Kill me? Why?" she whispered.

"Your eyes. You have the Sight and anyone who can see them is always a threat."

"W-what do you mean? Sight?"

He sighed at her lack of understanding but spoke anyways.

"Listen, you can see me, right?" he paused to let her nod. "Good, then understand that no ordinary human can see me."

She blinked in utter confusion causing the man before her to grunt in frustration.

"God, you're slow. Just forget it for now. All you have to know is that you're different from everyone else and that difference may get you killed. Now follow me, it's almost midnight."

He turned away from her, his long leather coat following his movements seemingly unaffected by the strong wind. She clutched her purse tighter to her chest, wondering what to do. She couldn't listen to a madman, could she?

Her heart thumped faster at the strange things she had begun to experience all night. The things he had told her, no matter how vague or insane they sounded, seemed to explain the panic and odd feeling she had felt. But then again, strangers were dangerous and this man definitely screamed danger.

She could still hear the man's echoing steps slowly leave her spot and decided to make a run for it. Naruto would protect her. It hadn't been too long since she'd been separated from Naruto so maybe she'd be able to catch up to him. She took another glance at the retreating man's back and carefully slipped off her sandals.

Her hands pulled at her long kimono to loosen around her legs and with another glance at the man, she made a run for it. She was running faster than she ever did during gym class or track practice and had just finally turned the corner when a hand gripped her waist tightly, pulling her backwards.

She screamed out for Naruto before the man could cover her mouth.

"Damn it woman! Didn't you listen to a damn thing I said?" hissed the seething man.

Hinata struggled to be free when she heard another person come running down the street, shouting her name. She bit down on the man's hand taking glee at his howl as she yelled out "Naruto! Help me!"

Suddenly her blonde knight came into sight, but froze at the sight of who held her captured.

"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing here? Let go of Hinata-chan."

Hinata, confused at their familiarity with one another, turned to look at the one called 'Sasuke' only to notice he had gone rigid and cold. When he dragged his eyes up to Naruto's questioning gaze, Hinata gasped at the spinning tomoe swimming in the bloods of his eyes. With a fluid movement, Sasuke pushed Hinata backwards and pulled a silver unsheathed sword from his leather coat.

His hands easily swung the sword to slice the air as his body fell into a tense form. Hinata kept silent, watching the two and the intricate runes inscribed on the sword crawl on the gleaning surface.

"Sasuke what the hell do you think you're doing?! Especially in front of Hinata-chan! Put the damn sword away!" shouted Naruto.

"No. You shouldn't have run away Naruto. You're a danger to everyone, yourself, and this girl. Besides, Kakashi decided we couldn't wait anymore for her Sight to mature. They're on the move and we needed to recruit her now."

"Bastard! Leave Hinata-chan out of this! She doesn't have that God damn Sight!"

"Really? Then why can she see me?"

The answer apparently stunned Naruto, leaving him only to quietly stutter "B-because you're allowing her to see you!"

"I'm not. My glamour's still on so she shouldn't even be able to look at me. Now come on, you have to go back to the Circle or else your condition will only worsen. I've followed your pathetic date all night, and I can tell you're struggling to control yourself."

Beads of sweat dripped from Naruto's brow and even from behind Sasuke's form, Hinata could tell Naruto was trembling. She watched his fingers twitch erratically – his nails appearing longer and sharper.

Especially at the appearance of the pale moon dyed a sickly pinkish-red hue.

"Damn it Naruto! The moon's out and I can tell it's changing you!"

"No.. I-I can… h-handle it!" groaned Naruto, clutching at his pounding skull.

"Damn it all to hell! If you aren't going to come peacefully, then I'll use force!"

Hinata couldn't figure out what exactly was happening between the two men but felt a sudden dread in her heart at Sasuke's last words. Something had gone wrong. Her heart clenched in anticipation as the two men tensed at Sasuke's words.

The wind suddenly died down in its force, leaving the atmosphere tense and suffocating. Hinata felt herself rooted to the street, waiting for the nightmare to end. She watched Sasuke pull his mask over his perfect face as changes began to happen to her Naruto-kun.

A deathly and rotting aura solidified in a bubbling orange smog surrounding Naruto. She heard Sasuke curse before launching himself at the gasping Naruto. His silver sword gleaned despite the sickly hue of blood cast by the full moon as he raised the blade high above his head.

Hinata couldn't make herself scream or shout at Naruto to move – the fear clutching her throat as tears slid from her eyes. She was almost tempted to shut her eyes in hope that all this would be a dream, but she could move nothing.

Nonetheless when she didn't hear the slice of Sasuke's sword plunging through Naruto, her heart raced a little less. She looked up, focusing her eyes on the two men farther down the street when her sight ultimately changed. She gasped at her vision detailing the fight in perfect record, everything pulsating with so many motions and colors. She could see everything so clearly for the first time.

Her body collapsed under the strain of her eyes and her hands flew up to massage the building pressure behind her eyes. Shakily her fingers traced the bulging veins connected from her eyes and flowing like a river to the side of her head. What was happening to her?

She threw that thought away when she heard a human scream, twisted with such suffering that her whole body was paralyzed in fear. Tears dripped from her eyes once more as she watched Naruto shake from some horrible inner force. The scream that was ripped from his throat began to transform into an entirely different noise as did Naruto's body.

Naruto's pores oozed at a sheen coating of blood that soon ruffled into the likeness of thick fur while the thick smog doubled and whirled to surround the man. It was getting difficult to see, but with more focus and a single pulsating vibe her eyes recaptured the scene in excruciating detail. Naruto's spine cracked and readjusted to a new form crawling its way through Naruto's body. His nails elongated longer than a butcher's knife and sharpened to a point rivaling Sasuke's blade.

When the smog finally disappeared, a demon had taken Naruto's place – wearing his skin in patches like rags. A manic laughter echoing more than one voice took presence of the whole vicinity as the demon examined his new body.

The fear that had paralyzed Hinata when the fight first began held nothing to the gasping fear that chained her to the spot as Sasuke bravely launched himself at the demon. It easily parried Sasuke's sword and pushed the man flying into a wall. Cracks appeared behind Sasuke's impact as he pulled his mask away to cough a spat of blood, wiping his mouth on the dark leather sleeve of his jacked.

He slid the mask back in place and stood still for awhile. Slowly a soft chirping noise began to accompany the fizzling and jumping electricity pumping through his sword. The electricity grew in power and force, heat blowing its way back to Hinata.

Gracefully Sasuke jumped higher than ever into the pitched-black sky – disappearing for a moment in Hinata's empowered eyes – before speeding back toward earth with his sword crackling with so much electricity the telephone poles sparked at the power. His sword came crashing down right upon the demon's skull, pushing the demon into the pavement of the street with a screeching howl.

With the blow down, Sasuke flipped backwards from the demon breathing hard. His body was still positioned in its tense form, hand clutching the sword tightly. Nothing happened for quite awhile.

After a minute or so of waiting, Sasuke pulled his sword away and slipped the mask off his face. He smirked in the direction of Hinata and turned his back to the battle when a claw outstretched from the pit to slam Sasuke against the wall. His body crumbled at the impact as blood slipped from his mouth.

Hinata cried out in angst as the demon slowly crawled out from the hole in the street. She watched it shake the rubble from its patchy fur before turning on Sasuke's limp form. Its claw was brought high to finish the killing blow when she screamed out, "NARUTO!!"

The demon froze before turning to her – eyes a rotting bloody red. She saw a fleeting flash of recognition in its eyes before it was pushed deeper with in the recess of its mind. Oh the horror she felt when the demon started to approach her.

"N-Naruto, please w-wake up. It's m-me Hinata. D-don't you remember?" she cried.

The demon seemed to be fighting an internal battle as its steps slowed at the sound of her voice. She swallowed the fear and continued to talk, trying to reach deeper to find the Naruto she knew.

"Naruto-kun, we've known each other since middle school. Do you remember when I first gave you my letter? I-I was so nervous. A-and I remember when you first opened it. You didn't seem to understand my letter at all. I was s-so mad and frustrated that I ended up yelling out t-that I liked you…"

The demon groaned, clutching its pounding head and for a moment Hinata heard Naruto whisper her name before it erected itself. The manic laughter began again and the dread sunk Hinata's heart as she whispered, "N-Naruto?"

The demon whipped around screeching, "DON'T SAY THAT NAME!!"

Its claw gleaned menacingly in the blood moon night slicing the air to reach her. Hinata closed her eyes for the first time that night, waiting for the blow when she felt someone push her out of the way. The two slid a distance away, Sasuke groaning as he pushed himself off her stunned form.

"Don't stand there next time, woman. That thing has its control on Naruto too deeply for talking just to get it," reprimanded a pissed Sasuke.

He shakily stood up, pulling Hinata up with him. He took another glance backwards at the approaching demon before picking Hinata up in his arms and making a run for it across the house roofs. Their speed sent her head in a dizzy spin, almost nauseating.

"S-Sasuke-san?" questioned Hinata, trying to ignore the warmth her cheeks felt from their proximity.

"No –san. Now I have to ask you a favor if you don't want the both of us to die. Help is on the way, but I don't think they'll be here fast enough before that damn demon kills us both. I'm a little anemic at the moment so I need some of your blood."

Hinata jolted back at his words stuttering, "My bl-blood? W-why?"

He sighed at her endless questions.

"I told you, I'm anemic at the moment. Vampires are at their strongest after they've just feed."

"Vampires!?"

"Damn it, woman! Now's not the time to ask questions. Are you going to do it or let us both get killed?" he yelled, stopping on the current roof they landed on.

The snake mask had been destroyed upon impact of the wall, leaving Sasuke's face to the full view of Hinata's widening eyes. His eyes had dimmed in their redness almost coloring a husk of the black night that surrounded them. But through his eyes, Hinata could detect the desperation and utter need of his request and with a shaky breath she said, "My name is Hyuuga Hinata. And I'll do it."

His smirk sent her knees knocking as she pulled her long hair to the side, exposing the paleness of her neck. He took a step forward, his form easily towering over her shaking one. His hand gently held both her sweating palms in an easy grip as he tilted her chin to the side whispering, "Close your eyes. It won't hurt a bit."

His voice lulled her into relaxation and it was through a haze did Hinata feel the sharpness of his fangs pierce her skin or the gentle flow of blood redirected into his mouth. Slowly she felt her consciousness slip when he pulled away from her, his tongue licking his lips dry of her blood. His skin now held a warm glow and she could feel heat reverberating from his form.

Hinata felt woozy just standing near him and felt her knees finally fall when he gently caught her. He chuckled, slowly placing her down on the roof top whispering, "Thank you. I'll protect you no matter what, Hina-chan. It's good to see you again."

Hinata vaguely wondered where she'd heard that nickname before slipped into unconsciousness.

Sasuke softly pushed a tendril of her hair behind her hair and then turned to face the demon that had finally caught up. With a smirk of excitement, he drew out his sword once more and took relish at the sparks of electricity that immediately surrounded the blade.

He attacked first, driving the blade straight into the demon's chest. The blade only managed to slice the demon's shoulder but the electricity drove into the wound singing the demon's fur. The demon growled grasping the blade and pulling Sasuke towards it. With quick-thinking, Sasuke managed to kick the demon square in the face and retreat a few steps away.

The battle continued to rage on and the new strength Hinata had given Sasuke was diminishing radically. In the back of his mind, Sasuke wondered where the hell back-up was when the winds started to pick up again. Shadows danced in the blood moon's light, all binding the demon to his spot while sand and leaves circled the demon.

The demon spat and growled through the sand, struggling to be freed when Sasuke felt four other presences arrive.

"Took you long enough," sneered Sasuke, spitting out a glob of blood.

"We apologize to the utmost, Uchiha-san. But I congratulate you on handling the situation quite well!" exclaimed an exuberant Lee. His partner, Gaara, only ignored the green-man's antics turning to give Sasuke a nod of approval before concentrating on his efforts to bind the screeching demon.

"Don't be such an ass, Uchiha. We got here as soon as we could," scolded Temari, blowing her fan harder while Shikamaru muttered under his breath, doubling his efforts in controlling the shadows.

Sasuke watched silently as the demon soon grew tired, putting up less and less of a fight. It wasn't long before the creature collapsed and the team immediately set out to put seals on the area and binding spells on the demon before they could transport it back to the Circle.

With the fight finally done and over with, exhaustion seeped deep into his bones and he held onto a sigh before catching sight of Hinata. Her hair had been messily tangled during the battle and he found himself softly brushing his fingers through the long locks when Lee caught him.

"Oh Uchiha-san! Are the winds of love finally beginning to blow for you? Oh happy day! Love is such like a blossom and I can see this maiden's beauty even through the trouble of battle!" shouted Lee at the top of his voice.

Sasuke groaned, pulling his hand away from her hair. But even so, his eyes just couldn't seem to concentrate on anything else but the sleeping form of Hyuuga Hinata.


	2. Somewhere In There by Sphyma

**Title: **Somewhere In There**  
Author:** Sphyma**  
Rating:** PG ( K+ )  
**Challenge:** Triangulation  
**Pairing:** OroHinaKimi

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, the original is posted right here on ff. net in Sphyma's (aka, piises on DA) personal profile.

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Hinata had always thought that, like Neji, she was trapped inside a cage. Her family oppressed them both through mind, body, and soul. Now, when she turned her pale, tired eyes on those rusty bars, she realized that they both knew nothing of cages.

She sat huddled in the dark and damp corner of the cramped prison cell, her dirty clothes clinging to her frail body. How long had it been since she had left? It felt so long. Were they looking for her? It did not seem like it. Surely, they would have found her already. Surely, Kiba would have told the Hokage about the nice ANBU that had healed her and knocked him out.

She missed everyone in Konoha and their soft, warm hands. Shuddering involuntarily, she pulled her legs closer to herself. The feel of his cold, hard fingers on her body and on her face never went away.

"Hinata-chan," he said, smiling kindly at her. "Orochimaru-sama wishes to see you."

She shook her head and tears blurred her sight. Even his spoken name caused her eyes to itch and burn with the sensation of him prodding and poking at them; the touches were etched into her psyche.

Kabuto easily pulled her up, and she followed whilst tripping over her own bare feet and the occasional slab of stone that protruded from the ground as he dragged her quickly through the liar. "Ano . . . ano . . ." she hesitantly whispered, looking up at his round, shiny white eyes. It was strange how the man that had taken her was the only one that did not frighten her. "Kabuto-san . . . he, ano, Orchimaru-sama said that I . . . I was done for today . . ." she trailed off, her hand brushing across her lips.

He smiled. "Orochimaru-sama has someone he want you to meet, Hinata-chan."

She nodded, but not in understanding – she did not understand anything here - but only as a means to convince herself that everything would fine. There would be no testing today, for he had promised. She absently looked behind her and was surprised to see a shining silver feather lying on the ground. Hinata cast her big, opalescent eyes heavenward, but only the cracked ceiling and creeping roots hung overhead. Furrowing her brow, she looked back down at the feather to make sense of this, but it was gone. Rattled, Hinata stumbled onward once again, and her hand absently tightened around Kabuto's.

When Hinata first looked Kimimaro in the eyes she wondered why he could be so happy standing beside that cruel man. Later when she lay on the freezing dissection table, she realized two things:

firstly, Orochimaru-sama kept his promise, he was not poking at her eyes – Kabuto was. Secondly, she decided that Kimimaro scared her more than Orochimaru-sama ever had.

"Do not disappoint Orochimaru-sama," and he would also say, "he's mine, do not touch him." Hinata could see in his green eyes that he hated her and all the attention Orochimaru-sama gave her.

It was funny she dazedly thought while stumbling after Kabuto, but she looked forward to getting back to her cage. Kimimaro was not allowed to follow her there, apparently. For a time she often wondered why.

Once again, she was on her back with the frosty steel biting into her aching bones and squinting up into the intense lights. She wondered how long it had been since they left her here. Who was that? Standing there by the door, was it Kabuto? His hair looked pale enough, yet less spiky. A short intake of breath; he loomed above her, unbuckling the straps that tied her down. There was something in his eyes – a flash of green – before he spoke. "I hope you did not disappoint Orochimaru-sama."

"No, h-he . . . seemed pleased," she whispered hoarsely, averting her eyes. Perhaps it was foolish what she said next, but Hinata felt she needed to say it, "I do not . . . ever disappoint Orochimaru-sama."

The reaction was instantaneous. The red paint cast a malicious reflection as he pinned her arms roughly to the table, his eyes bore holes into her body like acid eating through metal. His voice cold and smooth, he told her that she was only alive because Orochimaru-sama wanted the Byakugan, and that when she was no longer useful to him, he would kill her for her discrimination against his savior.

In some unfair way, at that moment, the harsh words reminded her of Neji at the chuunin exams and Naruto too. Those were the thoughts that broke the dam and brought a flood of tears to her eyes. He let go of her arms – seeming to believe that his words had hurt her – and put on that blank mask once again before leaving her alone and shaking uncontrollably. No . . . he wouldn't do that to me.

The next day Hinata sat cross-legged and doodling nonsensical pictures when she heard the angry moan of her prison door opening. Bleary grey eyes grazed quickly across Kabuto before falling once again to the dusty floor. He stood at the doorway, the hall lights obscuring his eyes from her and she pushed herself up to stand on fragile and shaky legs.

While she walked the barren hallways Hinata, once again, wondered why she was being called back down to Orochimaru's laboratory. He had said that she was almost finished. She hoped she would not meet any more people. A small frown pulled at her lips and she absently began brushing her finger across her lips. Those dark thoughts trailed off when something odd happened. To the side she saw several of those beautiful feathers that appeared metallic in the flickering candlelight. She stared blankly at the mound and took hesitant steps forward and her dry, chapped hands reached out to touch them. She froze at the feeling of warm flesh against her bare shoulder, and slowly turned frightened to the man behind her.

"What are you doing, Hinata-chan? There's nothing there." Kabuto chuckled softly when she whipped her head around and stumbled backward. "Come, we do not want to make Orochimaru-sama wait. He has a surprise for you, Hinata-chan."

Hinata flinched and gasped as his grip tightened around her shoulder. She looked up at him, her eyes were still wide, and her lips trembled as if to plead with him that he not let her go. Kimimaro was enough. She did not need to meet new people. Kabuto pushed his glasses further up his nose – she could not see his eyes anymore but he smiled reassuringly– and grasped her hand tightly.

She faced Orochimaru her hands pulled close to her chest and her wide eyes staring in shock at his malevolent grin. Hinata's breathing became erratic as a million thoughts raced through her mind. His bared fangs – hardly a centimeter away from her face – dripped saliva and the dilated pupils of his wicked, yellow eyes engulfed her. Kimimaro may have scared her but Orochimaru-sama terrified her, she subconsciously thought, while blackness began to numb and consume her.

"Orochimaru-sama, I will serve you better," he said, bowing low.

Said man laughed. "I know, Kimimaro-kun. I hope you were not upset with all the time I have been spending with dear Hinata-chan." The sound of endless ring reigned in the moment of silence while Orochimaru looked Kimimaro over. "There was no reason to get so jealous, Kimimaro-kun," he added thoughtfully while passing his fingers over something slick and round. "She benefits us both in the end." He looked up into the calm and collected eyes of Kimimaro and a wry smile slid across his lips. "We'll both share her in the end."

Hinata had always thought that cages could not trap you forever.


	3. Picture Imperfect Pt 1 by BlueQuartzFoxy

**Title: **Picture Imperfect**  
Author:** BlueQuarzFoxy**  
Rating:** PG-13 ( T )**  
Challenge:** Triangulation**  
Pairing:** SasuHinaShika

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, please visit our homepage on DeviantArt for directions to the original post.

* * *

**Part One**

Camera lights flashed, producing blinding white light going off, on, off, then on again as the photographer flittered from one end of the set to the other to get the best angles, lighting, and poses from the models as possible.

Pale lavender eyes stared up at the 'devil' looming above her. His eyes smoldering obsidian color, the gaze seemingly piercing right through her in a sexually charged, yet at the same time looking frighteningly predatory. Despite telling herself over and over again not to be scared, Hinata couldn't help but flinch at the looks her modeling partner was given her.

'He looks more like he's going to eat me than make love to me…' Hinata thought while at the same time trying to give the best sultry- yet scared- look she could muster up.

A few more flashes came and went before the disgruntled photographer pulled back.

"Sasuke, back down a little, Hinata-chan is starting to look more scared than turned on what with you hovering over her like a vampire bat."

'Thank you so much…' Hinata mentally added to what the photographer said.

Annoyed by the scolding, Sasuke turned his eyes away from Hinata and twisted his body forward to face the photographer.

"And who are you to bark orders at me? You told me, be sexy yet predatory."

Another heavy sigh escaped the photographer, "Look, you can still pull that off without looking so menacing. Hinata, take a break for five minutes. We'll do some more test shots for Sasuke."

"Alright, Shikamaru-kun," the female model replied, grateful to be out from underneath Sasuke.

Sasuke however was less than pleased, "So, both of us ruin a shot; yet she gets to wander off and take a water break?"

"Sasuke…just shut up and take the test shots. We need to have your part down, otherwise there's no point bringing Hinata into the frame. If you don't look right, then Hinata will look out place in the photo."

"Fine…" Sasuke replied between clinched teeth, "I'll do it."

"Good for you." Shikamaru countered sarcastically.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm taking a short break too."

Dark eyes widened for a moment and glared at the photographer, "If you're leaving then who is going to take my test shots?"

"One of my assistances can handle it, so try not to cause them any more trouble than you're already worth." Shikamaru said as he walked out the studio, heading towards the break room.

Sasuke's fingers curled tightly into clenched fists.

'Sure he gets to go frolic off with Hinata, while I'm stuck here doing extra work!' Sasuke thought bitterly, resolving himself to finish up the test shoots quickly so Hinata could come back and get right to work.

Cool water touched her lips, pale eyes looking around the empty break room, noticing the changes, namely the snack and soda machines were done away with.

'A lot of people are not going to be happy about that.' Hinata thought as she took another sip out of her water bottle.

One such person happed to walk into the room. First he breezed past the empty spaces left in the wall, blinked, turned his head and backpedaled to stare at where the coffee dispenser once stood.

"Um…it's not there anymore…" Hinata offered politely.

"I can see that. What I'm wondering is why?" Shikamaru returned.

Hinata shrugged, "Some of the girls started complaining about the coffee machine. They said coffee has caffeine and calories."

"Yeah…so?" Shikamaru asked, honestly wondering what calories had to do with the coffee machine being MIA.

"Well um…the girls said they didn't want to be tempted by having the coffee machine in the break room. The said coffee ruins their complexion and figure…so…they petitioned Tsunade-san to remove the machine."

Hinata waited in silence for a moment, gauging Shikamaru for his reaction. Predictably he smirked.

"And the insanity continues," the young photographer muttered bitterly as he fished out some coins, slid them through the water/juice machine and punched a button.

"Next thing you know, they'll set up machines that despise carrot and celery sticks. Wait, that wouldn't work either. Having carrots and celery around might tempt a few of the girls to actually eat something, and we can't allow that to happen."

Hinata tried not to giggle or even smile, Shikamaru after all was making the corrosive comments against her co-workers and their profession of modeling.

Still, Hinata had to admit to herself that taking out the coffee, soda, and snack machines was taking it a tad bit too far since other people- not just models- worked at Konoha Studios.

"They are carrying things a bit too far…" Hinata finally said aloud as Shikamaru grabbed his juice can and sat down next to her on the bench.

"You've got that right. Models have a problem with realizing that the world doesn't revolve around them."

A small displeased frown formed along the corner's of Hinata's mouth, "Not all models are like that…"

"Sorry, sorry. I meant all models, present company excluded." Shikamaru corrected himself, popping the tab to his drink and downing at least a third of it before making a face.

"Too sweet…bleck."

"Try the apple juice instead of the grape next time." Hinata suggested, taking another taste of water.

Shikamaru nodded once, holding the can in one hand, the other resting on his knee.

For a brief moment, the two just relaxed and enjoyed the silence and lack of hustle-bustle of the photography studio.

Finally, Shikamaru spoke up, "Sorry about today."

"Hm?" Hinata questioned, her lips curled around the mouth of the water bottle.

"Sasuke. He's giving you a tough time today. So, I'll try to do my best to rein him in."

Lowering the water bottle, Hinata sheepishly waved her hands around.

"Uh…you…you really don't have to do that Shikamaru-kun! I can handle Sasuke-san….what?" Hinata asked suddenly when she saw the puzzled look Shikamaru gave her.

"You call him 'Sasuke-san?'"

Hinata nodded slowly, not sure as to what she called Sasuke had to do with anything.

Shikamaru smirked a little, "That's good. I was afraid you were becoming like all the other girls who follow Sasuke around yelling 'Sasuke-kun!' all the time."

Hinata frowned again, this time hurt that her friend thought of her to be a 'Sasuke groupie'.

"I get along with Sasuke well enough in our shared photo shoots; but I really don't think much about him otherwise."

"Again," Shikamaru paused to drain the last of his juice, tossing the empty can into a trash bin, "it's a good thing you're not obsessed with him. Makes you more focused on your work than rather who you're working with."

Hinata moved the water bottle to her lips, yet stopped from taking a drink.

"Sometimes…I really don't understand what they see in Sasuke-san anyway. He's so…so…"

"Ass-holey?" Shikamaru offered, much to Hinata's amused horror.

"N-no! That wasn't what I wanted to say at all, Shikamaru-kun!"

"Maybe not," the young man mused, lightly scratching the light stubble along his cheek, "But, be honest you were thinking it…or at least something like it."

Pink-painted lips pursed, "Maybe…Sasuke-san does have a…tendency to be a bit cold and stand-offish. But, I'm sure deep down he's a good person who just has difficulty connecting with other people."

A heavy sigh escaped Shikamaru, his hand reaching over to ruffle Hinata's long indigo hair, "You're too kind for your own good, sometimes."

"Ah. There is no such thing. Shikamaru let go of my head, you're going to mess up my hair!" Hinata protested, trying to swat Shikamaru away.

"It looks too styled. You and Sasuke are supposed to be in bed together so it needs to look rough and slept in."

"Quit it! My head is starting to hurt…" Hinata complained as she kept playfully pushing Shikamaru back.

"It's nice to see you two having fun when we're supposed to be working…" a voice started up, the tone dripping with sarcasm.

Both Shikamaru and Hinata turned, Shikamaru's hands still caught in Hinata's long hair, stared at the entryway like two sheepish teens caught doing something they shouldn't be doing.

Sasuke's gaze narrowed at the scene before him.

"I've finished my test shots."

"Good…" Shikamaru said his voice cracking a little so he cleared his throat, "we can get back to work then."

Sasuke leaned up against the doorframe, "No, we don't have to work. Honestly I could stand here and watch you two go on all day long, so please continue."

Hinata sank into herself, shoulders slumped low, her gaze averted to look away.

Noticing the abrupt change in Hinata's behavior, Shikamaru rose up from the bench approaching Sasuke.

"Cut out the sarcasm and I might consider finish this photo shoot."

Sasuke glared in response, "You don't scare me. If Tsunade-san fires us for not completing one campaign, she'll have to fire you too."

In order to cut the tension and to keep Shikamaru from following through with his promise- and end up harming his career in the process- Hinata stood up.

"Um…Sasuke-san, I'm ready to go back to the photo shoot now," she bowed for a moment, "Sorry for making you wait."

Sasuke gave this grimace-smirk hybrid. It almost looked like a smile; but the person giving the expression just wasn't quite committed enough to the curve of his mouth to make it so.

"See, Nara. That's an example of a devoted employee of Konoha. You should follow her example." Sasuke said in smug tone.

Hinata couldn't quite pin-point what was going on around her, but lately it seemed Sasuke and Shikamaru kept arguing, competing, and…keeping score of something which was unknown to her.

A small shiver rolled down the young woman's spine. She didn't like all this tension and wanted to get back to work just so she could avoid having to think on how vicious both men acted to one another.

Hinata found that she couldn't leave quite as quickly as she'd like since both Shikamaru and Sasuke were staring each other down, blocking the doorway.

The staring contest lasted for about five seconds before Sasuke moved back to allow Hinata to squeeze past.

"Ladies first."

Flustered, but at the same time glad to get out of the room, Hinata squeaked past Sasuke and out into the hallway.

'I just hope they don't hurt each other…' Hinata thought as she quickly walked down the hall, heading back to the studio.

**Notes:** Sorry this part seems kind of rushed/abrupt. I'll out of town next week so I need to crank out this part and the second part before the deadline. Thank you for reading! And don't worry I should have the second part up sometime either tonight or tomorrow evening.


	4. Picture Imperfect Pt 2 by BlueQuartzFoxy

**Title:** Picture Imperfect**  
Author:** BlueQuarzFoxy**  
Rating:** PG-13 ( T )**  
Challenge:** Triangulation**  
Pairing: **SasuHinaShika

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, please visit our homepage on DeviantArt for directions to the original post.

* * *

**Part Two**

Dark brown and almost black appearing gazes clashed. Since Hinata had left them to move on to the studio, now would have been the perfect time for a brawl; but Sasuke prided himself on being a gentleman and Shikamaru…just didn't feel energetic enough to start swinging punches; so for now the glares would have to do.

However words could be used as well…

"What is your problem today, Sasuke?"

"What's yours?"

"I asked you first."

"And I refuse to answer unless you answer me first."

Brown eyes rolled, followed by Shikamaru smacking himself in the forehead, 'We sound like two PMSing girls…'

The argument lapsed into silence; both men gauging their foil for reactions and weak points to take advantage over the other.

"I've known her since we were kids." Shikamaru offered up, the smug look on his face showing he viewed experience and knowledge of Hinata would win over male prettiness.

"Yes, but you've been gone out of her life for…how many years now?" Sasuke countered, a smug look of his own to match Shikamaru's, "Besides, we work very close together. All you do is bark orders and snap pretty pictures."

Shikamaru snorted in response, "You two may work closely together, but Hinata looks more afraid of you than interested."

Sasuke's gaze narrowed into dagger-sharp glares, "At least I'm not the one who's known her for years and is just now making his move."

Shikamaru shrugged, "I've been biding my time."

"No, you thought that since I was interested in her, moving in on Hinata now would be easy since she's so oblivious otherwise…"

"Ah, so now you'll admit that your intimidation tactics aren't working on her."

Sasuke clenched his fists and teeth, attempting to cool down.

Taking the place of Sasuke's retort, Shikamaru pushed the Uchiha out of his way of passing through the doorway, "Other girls might like being half-scared of you; but Hinata has more sense than to be with some guy who treats her like trash…or prey."

Sasuke stood stone silent as Shikamaru moved to walk back to the studio.

He was seething mad. For months, he had been working on getting this close to Hinata; only to be pushed all the way back to the starting point with the arrival of this new photographer who had a history with the young female model.

'I won't lose.' Sasuke determined.

Hands in his pants pockets, Shikamaru had to admit he felt better after putting Sasuke in his place. Hinata and Sasuke might work together and yes there was a small six year gap where he and Hinata were on opposite ends of the country, but coming back to work with Konoha Studio, his and Hinata's friendship was more than intact.

If anything, it was like he had never left. They could still talk, goof off together, and be open with each other; their relationship was exactly the way it was years ago.

And Hinata had always been the perfect fit for Shikamaru's ideal of a wife. She was nice, mostly quiet- he only heard Hinata raise her voice twice in the whole seventeen years he'd known her. And the girl had a level head on her shoulders despite working in a materialistic and unrealistic profession.

So with Sasuke momentarily out of the running; Shikamaru felt he had a fairly good chance to start the pursuit, a perfect plan: Knock the opponent off balance- preferably over a cliff- then while the enemy is distracted, slowly move forward to claim the prize.

However, Shikamaru didn't count on one thing…

"Why don't we make a deal instead of fighting all the time?" a voice behind him suggested.

At first, Shikamaru wasn't going to entertain such an idea. He had won this time. Sasuke was just being a sore loser.

"If you win, I'll back off Hinata…for good." Sasuke claimed.

Shikamaru stopped in his tracks. It sounded like a good offer, almost too good in fact.

Despite his initial rejection of the idea, Shikamaru found himself turning around to give Sasuke at least a fourth of his full attention.

"What do you have in mind?" Shikamaru questioned, knowing if this deal sounded the least bit favorable to Sasuke, he knew to shut it down and refuse to agree no matter how tempting the reward portion of the bargain sounded.

Sasuke's smirk returned, slowly regaining his formerly shaken confidence.

"It's very simple. Whoever can kiss Hinata in two days wins. The winner can keep going after her, but the loser has to promise to back down."

"That sounds…stupid." Shikamaru replied shortly, moving to turn around.

"You're only calling it 'stupid' because you know that I'll win." Sasuke returned.

Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks.

It was a challenge, actually more like a childish taunt. But, for being a low-key and laid back kind of person, Shikamaru just couldn't say 'no' to a challenge of any sort. He had a competitive steak within him that wouldn't allow him to leave Sasuke's taunt alone.

"What I meant to say is that, it's stupid because it is so unfair against you." Shikamaru said with a grin, "Hinata and I have kissed each other a lot."

"Kissing each other on the cheek as kids hardly counts as an actual 'kiss', Shikamaru." Sasuke countered smugly.

Shikamaru's face paled slightly, "W-who told you about that?"

Sasuke chuckled once. His good mood increasing as he kept pushing Shikamaru into a corner.

"Hinata's rather talkative after a few drinks. I heard a lot of other interesting stories about yours and her childhood; but that sticks out the most since Hinata found it funny that you were always the one to kiss her, even though always claimed to hate 'playing house' with her."

'Mental note: keep Hinata away from all things alcohol from now on.' Shikamaru reminded himself.

"So," Sasuke offered his right hand, "do we have a deal?" he asked.

Shikamaru started at the proffered hand almost like it was diseased.

"Sure, but I have one condition."

Sasuke's right eyebrow rose up, "And?"

"The kiss has to be consensual. Hinata has to agree with the kiss. No sneaking, stealing, or tricking her."

Sasuke grimaced, "What kind of guy do you take me for?"

"The kind that will do anything to win." Shikamaru replied as she finally shook hands with Sasuke.

"But you should take that as a compliment, since I'm the same type of person."

Sasuke snorted, "If that's the case, then I'd rather play dirty than be compared to you."

Hinata waited, waited, and waited for Sasuke and Shikamaru to come back to the studio. Sitting on the edge of the prop bed, the young woman stared down at her bare feet and robe covered body, keeping her gaze away from the studio workers and Shikamaru's assistants.

For being such a shy and reserved person, Hinata believed she had found her niche in modeling. Most of the skinny-down-to-bare-bones-models were losing work since it was decided being unnaturally skinny wasn't healthy and portrayed a bad image; so in order to invoke 'change', Konoha Studios hired her.

Still, because she had more of a bust and a figure than the other girls, Hinata couldn't help but feel self-conscious, especially after having to face the glares the other female models gave her in the changing rooms.

'Look at her. The big fat cow…'

'I heard Tsunade-san only hired her because she threaten to kill herself if they didn't.'

'Sasuke-kun only does each and every photo shot with her, just to be nice. She really is pathetic…'

Closing her eyes tightly, Hinata tried hard not to cry. She felt silly for getting upset over stupid things, such as what people said about her.

Her roommate Sakura had put it plain and simply, 'Those girls are just jealous Hinata.'

'Jealous?' Hinata recalled questioning.

The pink-haired woman nodded, 'Yes, jealous. Because they can see that even though you're a model, you have a 'real' body, while most of them have to have work done just to have a chest they can honestly brag about.'

"That doesn't mean what they say hurts any less…" Hinata said to herself.

"Who said what?" someone asked above her.

Lifting her head, Hinata gasped and end up scooting back onto the bed a little as she saw Sasuke standing over her.

"Um…it…it's nothing really." Hinata excused, trying her best to put on a smile while at the same time pulling the robe covering her body tighter.

At first, it didn't seem that Sasuke believed her. But since they had work to do, Sasuke refrained from making a comment. Instead he pulled his shirt over his head, making the other female models in the back swoon. Hinata too felt a blush coming on, but she wasn't looking at Sasuke's chest, instead she was more embarrassed that her modeling partner had overheard her.

'I need to be more careful…' Hinata thought as she moved to rest against the bed.

'I can't trust anyone here unless it's Shikamaru. Everyone else would have a lot to gain if they really knew about me.'

And Hinata's thoughts weren't just paranoia. The female models, jealous of her constant photo assignments with Sasuke, had made it clear to Hinata that she was not welcomed into their little group. And some of the other male models were backing the girls since a lot had refused to sign onto photo shoots she had done.

Only Sasuke still seemed to want to work with her, which only made the other girls more annoyed with her.

'I have to be careful.' Hinata thought.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, his masculine frame leaning over her.

"Y-yes…" Hinata replied only to flinch a second later as she felt fingertips brush along her cheek.

"You're crying…or you were." Sasuke said.

Hinata felt her throat constrict. Now not only was she embarrassed, but scared. If those other girls had seen her cry…

"P-please don't tell anyone…about that." Hinata requested of her photo partner.

Sasuke looked puzzled, "Who would I tell and why?"

Hinata bit her bottom lip, her gaze unconsciously floating over to the group of female models.

Sasuke followed her stare and caught on quickly.

'Psycho stalkers…Hinata hasn't done anything to them.' Sasuke thought.

"I'll talk to them later today…"

"No!" Hinata first protested, yet reeled back when she realized how loud her voice came out, "I mean…please don't talk to them. If they knew…that I knew and I told you it will only make things worse."

Sasuke watched Hinata's gaze turn away from him, instead she focused on some place located on the prop they were kneeling on.

'Idiots. They're all a bunch of losers,' Sasuke thought to himself.

He hated his fan girls, more so since they were making work miserable for Hinata.

It was a rather prickly situation though. He could tell the other girls to back off Hinata, but Sasuke had a feeling- what with the models persistence and the way Hinata refused to look the other females in the eye- that if he said something, the girls would only bring Hinata more grief.

'I suppose there is only one way to get it through those girl's heads…' Sasuke mused.

Yet before he could propose anything to Hinata; Shikamaru came back camera ready and already directed them as to how to pose and lean 'away' from the light to cast bigger shadows rather than lean into the spotlights.

Hinata felt her face start to become warm with a blush as dark eyes stared intensely at her. Thankfully, whatever test shots Sasuke did before had worked out whatever made him glare at her like a frightening monster.

Though Hinata wished the touching would stop. She shivered first at feeling long fingertips smoothly slide up the side of her neck.

Then Hinata pressed her lips together after feeling Sasuke touch his index finger to them.

"W-what are you doing?!" she asked becoming increasingly flustered.

"You want the other models to leave you alone?" Sasuke inquired in return.

Hinata didn't even have to glance over to the gaggle of females gathered in the back of the studio to tell this wouldn't end well.

"Do you?" he asked again.

This time Hinata nodded, affirming her response, "B-but…" she cut off in mid-sentence, unable to end think of what she might have to look forward too after work should this go on.

"Then follow my lead." Sasuke assured as he leaned in closer to her.

"But…I…I…"

"Cut!"

Both Sasuke and Hinata glanced up from the prop bed.

"We're done…already?"

'Thank god,' Hinata thought, honestly unable to stand her increasingly award position with Sasuke any longer. She needed to escape, get changed, and get the hell out of Konoha Studio before anyone could corner.

Shikamaru was already placing the camera equipment up as the two models moved to leave the set, "We took the first two hundred shots earlier and just finished the last fifty a minute ago; so we're done for the day."

Sasuke gave the photographer an uneasy look. Weren't they supposed to do three hundred shots instead of just two hundred and fifty?

Hinata however shrugged the discrepancy off. To her getting out of the studio and into some modest clothes were top priority; so she left almost as soon as Shikamaru said they were done.

Pulling on her changing robe, Hinata quickly padded over to the changing rooms. She first took to locking the door with a company issued key then searched for her bag of street clothes.

"Looking for these?" someone behind her asked in a sickly sweet tone.

Hinata didn't want to turn around and see who had her clothes, but it couldn't be helped.

She turned in time to see the 'girls', namely the redheaded ringleader known as Karin, holding her duffle bag hostage.

"G-give them back…" Hinata first said.

"Hm? What, speak up little mouse. I can't hear you." Karin taunted, leaning in close towards Hinata.

Closing her eyes and attempting to take a deep breath- actually breathing all together was becoming a difficult task- Hinata asked again.

"Please…give me back my clothes, K-Karin-san."

"Oh?" the redhead asked, fixing a pair of small framed glasses further up her nose, "You mean these rags?" she returned over turning the unzipped duffle bag and tossing out the tatters and shredded up bits of Hinata's clothes.

Horrified, Hinata could only stand on trembling legs as Karin and the other girls started laughing at her.

"Looks like Hinata-chan will just have to walk around naked…like the tramp she is!" Karin said with a loud laugh.

Humiliated, Hinata backed up into a wall, her entire body trembling . She couldn't think of anything to say…or no. She hated confronting anyone…about anything.

'I can't. I can't…I can't…' Hinata thought to herself, closing her eyes tight to shield out tears.

"Hey! What's going on in here?"

"Sasuke-kun?" one girl exclaimed, making Hinata cringe yet again.

He was the very last person Hinata wanted to witness this.

'Please just go away…' Hinata thought to herself as if her wishes would make Sasuke suddenly vanish out of the room.

Sasuke stepped into the dressing room, the fan girls scattering backwards and clearing a path as he shoved and pushed them back to Hinata.

He looked at the shreds of cloth and denim at the woman's feet, her empty bag, and then to the girls over his shoulder.

"Get out."

"I…but Sasuke-kun…we were just…"

"I said get out!"

The girls, Karin included, reeled back in shock. Sasuke-kun…their beloved dark-haired God, Sasuke-kun…had…had yelled at them!

It was unthinkable!

"Are all of you deaf? Get out of here!" Sasuke repeated for a third time, this time wheeling to look at the girls so quick, they all scattered away in fright.

Hinata started to shake, honestly unsure what to think or believe.

'Sasuke-san helped me. But why?' Hinata asked herself.

Rarely, if ever, did Sasuke put himself out for anyone.

"Well…" Sasuke said as he lightly kicked what remained of Hinata's cream-colored blouse and denim skirt, "you obviously can't wear these. And you can't go outside looking like that."

Hinata felt her cheeks flush from the way Sasuke looked at the very thin dressing robe she was wearing.

'Pull yourself together, he's seen you in much less than this.' Hinata thought to herself as she attempted to breathe out.

"Um…obviously…" Hinata repeated, her gaze falling to the floor.

For a moment both models stood around awkwardly, trying to puzzle out their, or rather Hinata's, situation.

Then a solution came to Sasuke after his gaze fell on the racks of unworn clothing the female models wore.

"These are…wonderful." a woman with long pig-tailed blonde hair and big breasts said, complimented her new photographer's latest shot with her best models.

Shikamaru didn't offer to take full credit for the shoot however.

"Hinata did great today. I hardly had any trouble with her."

Tsunade nodded, "I see, I see. But, every time you come in here Nara-kun, you're always praising Hinata. Her talents, beauty, attritibtes, and so on and so forth," she said with a blasé wave of her right hand.

Hazel eyes cut a small glare at the young man sitting across from her, "But, you seems to be overly critical of your last subjects. Such as, you never have anything positive to say about Sasuke."

Tsuande noticed the slight tightness along Shikamaru's jaw line.

'Jealousy, perhaps?' she thought, knowing the signs well what with dealing and putting up with men all her life.

"Sasuke is…difficult to work with." Shikamaru finally managed to say, "He'll do the job, but only on his terms and usually he's telling me how I should do my job."

Tsunade snorted as she reorganized the photos and filed them away to be mailed off to their overseas client.

"See, there you go again. You have nothing positive to say, and when you do, you're sure to counterweight it…no rather you overwhelm the positive with your negative comments."

Shikamaru looked over at his employer. Most men would have fallen dead on their feet looking at the woman who appeared to be thirty-something- but was actually going on fifty-one years-; he however wasn't moved by it at all.

Buxom blonde-haired women just weren't his thing, so Tsunade knew she couldn't charm Shikamaru into being cooperative by turning on the sexy boss-bombshell. Instead she had to practice a smidgen of tough love.

"Asuma-kun recommended you highly to take his place. But," Tsunade paused long enough to give Shikamaru a level stare.

"I'm starting to wonder if you're here for…other things."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by other things?"

Tsunade folded hands in front of her, paused again, and then caved in enough to open the drawers of her filing cabinet.

Pulling out Shikamaru's portfolio, she flipped it open and laid out his earliest pictures in front of them both.

"Before you came to us. The only photographs you had in this file were all mountain ranges, deer and other wildlife, fields, old temple ruins. Fairly mediocre and boring. In fact, I only hired you because Asuma said he'd starve himself to death in protest."

Shikamaru currently felt like strangling his former mentor, 'I wasn't that desperate to get hired at this place he'd have to starve himself in protest!'

"Yet when you came aboard as Asuma's assistant…" Tsuande continued flipping a few pages towards the middle, the first picture to appear was a black-white of Hinata, the only coloring being the purple lipstick on her mouth and the pale lavender coloring of her eyes.

"You didn't film any other models while as Asuma's assistant. And after he leaves to spend more time with his family, you step in, an amateur with no former training save for what Asuma taught you."

"So…" Shikamaru started, honestly wondering where the point to their little boss-to-underling talk was all about.

Becoming increasingly aggravated herself, Tsuande flipped over page, after page, after page, after page.

"Hinata. Hinata. Hinata, again. Hinata…oh look there she is again on this page too." Tsuande said before slamming Shikamaru's career portfolio up.

"You have captured other models on film you know."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

"Then why isn't anyone else besides Hinata in your portfolio."

"I…" Shikamaru began to speak up, but the blonde-haired woman cut him off with a look.

"This isn't good Shikamaru. Not for you, your career, and this isn't fair to Hinata either."

Shikamaru felt like he had suddenly been dropped into quick sand. He wasn't allowed to speak up in his own defense and Tsunade did have a point. He really didn't have much experience and mostly had raw talent and Asuma's training in his favor.

Tsunade put the portfolio away, "Are you here to start a career…or do you have some sort of obsession with Hinata-chan?"

Shikamaru gritted his teeth again, and like before Tsuande saw it coming on.

"Before," she said, cutting off Shikamaru again, "you become defensive with me. Just know that you need to take other pictures of other models and add them to your portfolio instead of relying on Hinata."

"Being the focal point of your career and whether or not you can get a job elsewhere or not, should not be Hinata's responsibility. So, take my advice. Add some more pictures to your career portfolio."

"I understand." Shikamaru replied, humbled somewhat by this meeting.

"Good," Tsunade said in response, closing her filing cabinet, "Please take my advice because I don't want us to have this talk again."

Moving to get out of his chair, Shikamaru waited to be dismissed from Tsuande's office, only to stop as a knock on the door resounded from the other side.

Before Tsunade could tell the intruder to come in or go away, the door opened with Sasuke on the other side, Hinata hovering behind him.

"Well this is a surprise." Tsunade said with a smile, yet her stressed out tone of voice clearly say she did not 'like' surprises; particularly surprises which came five minutes before five.

Sasuke stepped in first, "Tsunade-san, we have a request to make."

"Pst, always so formal," the older woman scolded then looked over to Hinata who still wasn't dressed.

"Hinata-chan? Why are you still in a dressing gown?"

The young woman flushed, her tongue becoming heavy and knotted as the words she wanted to say became stopped up in the back of her mind.

"Hinata forgot her change of clothes from home." Sasuke interrupted.

"Really?" the brown-eyed woman asked, surprised at this. Hinata was hardly a flighty or forgetful young woman.

Shikamaru also seemed rather skeptical at the excuse.

"Um, Tsunade-san…" Hinata started, "is it okay with you if I borrowed some clothes…j-just for tonight. I'll promise to laundry them, dry clean, whatever it takes to keep the clothes clean and…and I'll return it back Monday."

Tsunade, still feeling she was not being told the entire story, considered for a moment.

'Something stinks here. Uchiha and Hyuuga are hiding something from me…' Tsunade thought to herself.

While suspicious, Tsunade also didn't like the idea of having one of her best models going without clothing. It would make the studio look back if they allowed Hinata to go home on public transport wearing nothing by a dressing gown and underwear underneath.

"Fine. Do…whatever you want. Just, get out of my office, all of you." Tsunade finally said, giving her blessing to Hinata to use the clothes.

Relieved to have clothes to change into, Hinata wasted no time getting from Tsunade's office to the dressing room.

The men however hung back in the narrow hallway between their boss's office and the changing rooms.

A long lull of silence followed, Shikamaru with hands in his pants pockets and Sasuke having his arms crossed over chest.

Finally…

"You haven't gotten a kiss yet."

"Neither have you."

"Hn…"

Another bit of silence looped around to return to them, driving yet another stake between the two male co-workers.

"I'm thinking about asking Hinata out tonight."

Sasuke blinked, suddenly thrown off by the sudden statement. No, since it was Shikamaru, the statement was actually a declaration of war.

"And you think she'll go out with someone like you?" Sasuke asked with a short humorless chuckle; because to be honest he didn't find this funny. He knew Hinata would go out with Shikamaru if only as a 'friend'. And that was what Shikamaru was banking on.

'Never mind that I was the one who spared her being humiliated.' Sasuke thought, 'If anything, Hinata should be asking me out to dinner to thank me…not her going out with him.'

Unaware of the exchange that had taken place between Sasuke and Shikamaru, Hinata stepped out, still pulling down the hem of the short kaki skirt. Normally she did not like wearing skirts, but since the clothes were from a spring fashion line, skirts were 'in', long pants were not.

And she couldn't stop feeling self-conscious as to how the blouse about a size too small keeping showing off her chest, so Hinata tried to sink her shoulders in, hoping bad posture would make her chest look smaller. Sadly, it didn't work.

Still, grateful to have clothes on at all, Hinata smiled slightly only to slow in her walk then outright stop as she saw Shikamaru and Sasuke waiting on either side of the hallway.

The air crackled with tension and Hinata was half-tempted to go back into the dressing room and stay put until the atmosphere quit being so oppressed and heavy.

"Um…y-you didn't have to wait for me." Hinata said, not quite sure as to which man she should have directed her comment to.

"It's fine." both Sasuke and Shikamaru said to each other, stopping to glare at the other.

"W-well um…thank you for waiting for me." Hinata said, again not sure who she should speak to.

Sasuke and Shikamaru still glared at each other, making Hinata feel very uncomfortable, so she slowly backed up a few steps, heading towards the exit.

"I…I…um…goodnight! I'll see you both Monday…I guess. … Bye!" she squeaked out, managing to get out of the studio before something erupted.

Tsuande came out her office just in time to watch a scared Hinata stare at the boys then bolt.

Watching the staring contest, Tsuande wasn't sure whether to laugh…or hit someone…or rather two someone's.

"Oi, idiots." the blonde-haired woman spoke up.

Both Sasuke and Shikamaru stopped glaring at each other long enough to look up.

"Look, I honestly don't care if you two like each other; I'm all for equal opportunity, non-discrimatory hiring and all that. But, could you at least have eye-sex with each other AFTER work, so everyone else doesn't have to watch and suffer."

Sasuke and Shikamaru both turned pale, looked to each other, Tsunade-san, the spot where Hinata 'once' stood, then back to their boss.

"We're not gay!" both yelled.

Tsunade slowly nodded, "Sure you're not. I won't tell if you won't, but right now I need a drink…good night gentlemen...or gentleman and lady, whichever..." she finished with a short wave and a cackling giggle.

Hearing the exit door slam behind their boss, Shikamaru and Sasuke finally realized their quarry had wandered off somewhere.

"Where could she have gone?"

Shikamaru shrugged in response, "Hinata normally isn't one for going out by herself. And her roommate's out of town. So, I suppose she went straight home."

"Uh-huh…you don't say." Sasuke said whipping out a cell-phone, his fingers already dialing up Hinata's place.

Shikamaru glared then felt his pants pockets, only to realize he had left his phone at home to charge.

'Crap…' Shikamaru thought, ready to kick himself for leaving his cell behind. That is until Sasuke got a busy signal.

"God, who could she be calling right after she gets off work…hey!" Sasuke shouted down the hallway as Shikamaru made a run for the door.

"While you're tied up with the phone. I'm going over to Hinata's place."

Closing his phone with a snap, Sasuke rushed him to the door, "Over my dead body."

The chase was on…again.

* * *

**Notes:** Sorry, it seems to rushed…again. I've had computer problems like you wouldn't believe this week and I barely submitted this piece before the deadline. I wanted to add so much more detail/events into this part, but time and computers wouldn't let me.

Thank you for reading!


	5. Kisses and All that Jazz by MW

**Title: **Kisses and All that Jazz**  
Author:** Melodramatic Writer**  
Rating:** PG ( K+ )**  
Challenge:** Triangulation**  
Pairing:** GaaHinaSui

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, the original is posted right here on ff. net in Melodramatic Writer's (aka, Reanne1102 on DA) personal profile.

**A/N: **Alternative Universe. Characters are fifteen. Random and Rushed. No plot but there is kissing so I guess it counts for something.

* * *

It was awkward and wet, Hinata would later think, very wet.

The shock when his lips descended on hers had passed and was replaced by innocent curiosity and a delicious sense of pleasure when his lips stroked hers hesitantly, the butterfly caress banishing all thoughts that this was not at all proper.

Hinata pressed her lips firmly against his, hands fisting in his short fiery red hair. The innocent feel of lips pressed against lips turned awkward when Gaara's tongue reached out tentatively and licked the underside of her upper lip. Hinata jerked her head away, eyes impossibly wide as electric shocks jolted jaggedly down her throat.

Flushing red, Hinata forced herself to look Gaara (the Kazekage, she would later remember, horrified). Opalescent and green clashed, a wordless conversation occurring between haggard breaths and stares before Hinata noticed something in his eyes that made her gasp for air because it blew her away and she just couldn't believe that anyone could stare at her like that and steal her breath with just one look and…and…

Gaara was kissing her again, wordlessly calming her with his mouth brushing against her lips, her cheeks, her nose, her eyes…and Hinata Hyuga melted.

When he kissed her again with a little more confidence, Hinata uncertainly opened her mouth to his probing tongue and shivered when it slicked past her lips.

It was wet and warm and somewhat uncomfortable. His inexperienced showed with the way he was timidly exploring her mouth with his tongue and for a brief moment Hinata glowed at the knowledge that she was his first.

"It's awfully hot here, don't you think?" a familiar voice called out wickedly and Hinata found herself agreeing mentally before she pulled away from Gaara in horror.

Turning around, the heiress went beet red when she found her partner pinning them both with a steely gaze.

Silvery blue hair matted to his forehead and a strained smile, Suigetsu Hozuki was Hinata Hyuga's partner on this diplomatic mission to secure a peace treaty between Suna and Konoha. For what, he didn't particularly care to know.

As soon as they had arrived in Suna he ditched Hinata in favour of the Konoha embassy that had air conditioning and lots and lots of water. Remembering that he had a partner whilst in the midst of chugging down the precious liquid, Suigetsu had reluctantly left to search for her. Who knew he'd stumble upon the introverted Hyuga making out with the Kazekage?

It seemed he wasn't needed after all. Hinata seemed to be doing fine on her own and her 'diplomatic persuasive ways' would get the treaty signed in no time. Something stirred in his chest at the sight of the tell tale flush on the Kazekage's face and Hinata's red lips. It raised its head and Suigetsu saw green.

"Aw," he drawled out mockingly, silver eyes glinting dangerously in the desert sun, "you two started without me. I'm crushed."

Without warning Suigetsu's hand fastened on her wrist and Hinata was pulled towards him, her surprised cry cut off by a hot mouth pressed against her own, hard and heavy – not at all sweet and awkward and innocent as it had been with Gaara.

Suigetsu's kisses were hungrier and demanding. Hot, wet and bordering on animalistic. Her lips bruised with every nip and suckle and her head pounded from the lack of oxygen.

When she was released Hinata saw the stars, the moon and the sun. Hair in disarray, eyes glazed over and lips swollen from the sweet torture it had been put through, Hinata Hyuga looked thoroughly ravished.

Suigetsu flashed a smirk in the direction of the Kazekage, issuing a silent challenge for him to 'beat that'.

It was too bad (good, Hinata would guiltily think later) for the dazed heiress that Gaara took Suigetsu up on that challenge.

**End. **


	6. Teenage Drama by Ms Videl Son

**Title: **Teenage Drama**  
Author:** Ms Videl Son**  
Rating:** G ( K )**  
Challenge:** Triangulation**  
Pairing:** HinaSasuSaku

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, the original is posted right here on ff. net in Ms. Videl Son's (aka, megaminoeien on DA) personal profile.

* * *

Three...two...one...

Cue Sasuke.

As per his usual sense of impeccable punctuality, Uchiha Sasuke strolled through the auditorium door just as the late bell rang and class officially began. Dropping his backpack next to his chair at the front of the class with cool indifference to the clattering contents, he similarly slumped into his seat as the teacher positioned himself on the stage for his usual spiel.

'_Whatta_ _**hunk**_,' was Sakura's thought every morning as Sasuke took his assigned place in front of her, looking effortlessly suave and sexy. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun," she greeted, smiling coyly at the back of his spiky head.

"Morning," he replied without turning around.

Sakura sighed as the single word reverberated around in her mind like a ball bearing beating against the insides of a jingle bell. It was a special morning, indeed, when _the_ Sasuke deigned to say something to her outside of their group. '_And so __**smooth**__, too..._'

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" Ino – love rival and all around pig – also welcomed, batting her mascara-lacquered lashes at him from the center of the room.

"Hn," was all Sasuke responded to that.

Triumphantly, Sakura pivoted her body in her seat and stuck her tongue out at the meddlesome blonde. Ino responded in kind, pulling her lower eyelid down with her middle finger, as well.

_Ha_! Ino-pig was foiled this day. Sometimes she, too, was bestowed with a cursory acknowledgment, but Sasuke apparently found her unworthy of the effort for the moment.

His next words, unfortunately, were routinely uttered every morning. Of his own volition, too. "Morning, Hyuuga," he said, tilting his head slightly to cast his gaze over his shoulder at the statement's recipient.

Sakura, likewise, turned to look. Her glare was unforgiving.

"G-Good morning, Sasuke-san...," replied Hyuuga Hinata, bashfully inclining her head to him in a bow.

With a quick nod of reciprocation, Sasuke returned his face to its original straightforward position and placed his chin in the net of his intertwined fingers. The teacher was about to speak, after all, so any further conversation amongst students was sure to be drowned out.

"GOOD MORNING, CLASS!" shouted the teacher at the top of his lungs, his chipper mood creating dour expressions on the faces of his pupils.

"Good morning, Gai-sensei," Sakura and the rest of the class intoned with as little enthusiasm as feasible without being unconscious.

"What was that?" Gai replied to them all, cupping a hand around his ear. He leaned forward expectantly, flashing his sparkling grin at no one in particular. "I couldn't hear your youthful spirit!"

Sakura inhaled deeply and, after the customary three second delay, blared with the majority of her classmates, "GOOD MORNING, GAI-SENSEI!"

Sasuke, cool and unaffected as ever, hadn't joined in on the loud and unnecessary second greeting. Sakura felt a little embarrassed at having done so herself and hoped to any gods above watching that her one true love hadn't noticed (it wasn't as if she'd yelled _right_ in his ear, after all...).

Hinata -- ever the quiet little mouse -- had followed Sasuke's example and remained silent during the group display of "youthful enthusiasm." Sakura hoped that this, too, had escaped Sasuke's attention. She sadly doubted that it had, though.

With an approving thumbs-up to all of them, Gai praised, "_Much_ better!"

Class then proceeded in its usual fashion – roll first, homework discussion second and acting teams third – and passed by in a whirlwind of excited proclamations of future projects and dramatic renditions of classic monologues by Gai. All-in-all, boring compared to watching Sasuke's ribs expand and contract while he breathed.

"Okay, time to split up into our teams!" Gai finally exclaimed twenty minutes before the bell would release them to second period. "We don't have enough time to present today since my monologue ran a bit long, but you can discuss your performances for the beginning of next class. Ten minutes to settle on a scene from any Shakespearean tragedy you like and report to me!"

Out of the corner of he eye, Sakura could see Hinata's hand tentatively raise into the air. "Um...Gai-sensei, m-my team members are a-absent today."

"Both of them?" Gai replied, picking up the clipboard with the class roster attached to it from the stage floor. He scanned down the sheet, wooly eyebrows drawn together as he read the names. "You're right...Inuzuka-kun and Shino-kun are both on that judo club trip, aren't they?"

"Y-Yes, sir..."

"Very well, you can be part of someone else's group today," Gai decided, throwing the clipboard to the ground again now that its usefulness had been outlived. "Any volunteers?"

Turning in Ino's direction, Sakura began signaling wildly to her. With Naruto also missing (probably suspended again), there was a slot open in Team Seven for Hinata and, if the bashful heiress and Sasuke were to ever spend any amount of significant time together...well, it would be bad for Sasuke fangirls everywhere, to put it bluntly.

Shikamaru was (blessedly) on the same trip as Kiba and Shino, acting as team manager or...something, giving Ino the opportunity to save them all from certain romantic doom. If only she would _stop_ _brushing her damned hair _and pay attention!

"Come on, guys! Hinata-chan is in desperate need of a couple of partners," Gai scolded the class, wagging a scornful finger at the lot of them. "Isn't anyone willing to open their heart to her?"

Finally, Ino noticed Sakura's frenzied hands. She raised a perfectly styled eyebrow at her pink-haired classmate as if to say, "what do you want?"

Pointing first to Hinata, then back to Ino, Sakura hoped that the blonde would catch on. She repeated the motions twice over just in case.

It wasn't working, however, so Sakura added an incline of the head to Sasuke to her mixture of signals. Finally, Ino seemed to take the hint and her eyes grew wide with understanding.

Just as the blonde's hand was rising into the air, a voice spoke up on Hinata's behalf; "She can join our group."

Too late.

"Why, thank you, Sasuke-kun! Hinata-chan, you'll be part of Team Seven today," Gai pronounced with finality. "Okay, get into your groups!"

Sakura and Ino both banged their heads against their individual desktops in defeat. Curses, foiled.

"Th-Thank you for letting me into your group," was the first thing that Hinata said as she pulled her desk up to Sakura's. Sasuke joined them a second later, attaching his workspace to both of theirs.

"It was nothing," Sasuke replied, averting his eyes from her.

"Y-Yeah," Sakura agreed, forcing what she hoped would be taken for a genuine smile. "Nothing."

"So...which scene should we do?" Hinata asked, apparently oblivious to the tension her presence caused within the group.

"How about the balcony scene from _Romeo and Juliet_?" Sakura suggested, turning away from Hinata to face Sasuke. His approval was necessary, after all. "It's such a romantic play, don't you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke snorted a laugh. "Romeo was on the rebound and Juliet wasn't old enough to know what she wanted. They were idiots." ( 1 )

"I don't know...," Sakura began, still hoping to persuade Sasuke without outright disagreeing with him. If she could swing a romantic interlude between herself and her object of affection, Hinata might be forgotten altogether. It could even be plausible to get a _kiss_ for her troubles. "I think love at first sight is _very_ powerful," she finished, fluttering her eyelashes for emphasis.

"Besides the fact that the play is based on infatuation and not love, there are three of us and not enough characters in the scene," Sasuke correctly observed.

"Hinata-chan could be the nurse," Sakura suggested, folding her arms beneath her bust and tilting her body forward.

"I'd rather do something from _Hamlet_," declared Sasuke, leaning back in his chair and away from Sakura. "What do you want to do, Hyuuga?"

Hinata, apparently startled to be included in the conversation, suddenly sat straight up in her seat and blushed. "I'm f-fine with whatever you decide to do..."

Sasuke frowned and, for the first time since their group was collected together, looked directly at her. "I asked what _you_ wanted to do."

"Oh, um...w-well..."

Sasuke brought himself forward again, propping his torso up on his desk with his crossed forearms. "Which tragedy do you like best, Hyuuga?"

"_K-King Lear_...," Hinata finally admitted, looking down at her desk as she began poking he fingers together.

With all that cutesy blushing, Sakura was beginning to suspect that Hinata liked Sasuke after all. What happened to that pathetic crush she had on Naruto?

"That works for me," Sasuke said, shifting his eyes to focus on Sakura. "What about you?"

"Uh...," was all Sakura could immediately think to utter. Should she try to press once more for her kissing scene? Or blindly agree with Sasuke like always? "I guess that's...okay..."

"Good, I'll go tell Gai," Sasuke said, pushing his chair back so that he could stand up. "Act V, scene iii fine?" ( 2 )

"Perfect, Sasuke-kun!"

"Yes, it's fine..."

Sasuke strolled away, purposefully making his way towards Gai. This left Sakura alone with her true rival.

Hinata had won this battle, but Sakura would prevail in the oncoming war.

* * *

**Footnotes: **

( 1 ) Though most people consider _Romeo and Juliet _to be the most romantic story ever, I'm inclined to disagree based (primarily) on two facts: 1 ) Romeo had literally just been dumped by another woman, Rosaline, who told him that he was too immature to understand love and 2 ) Juliet was only about fourteen-years-old. Does that sound like love or infatuation to you?

( 2 ) Act V, scene iii of _King Lear _– this is the point at which King Lear (the protagonist) and his formerly disowned daughter, Cordelia (who is the only loyal daughter out of three), are captured as war prisoners by the antagonists of the play. At the very beginning of the scene, Lear describes a fantasy about him and Cordelia living alone together like birds in a cage (this reminds me more of NejiHina, particularly considering the familial ties, but I figure it would speak to Hinata either way).

For more detail, please read the play yourself and/or look up the cliffsnotes on SparkNotes. com.

Btw, I chose King Lear as Hinata's favorite Shakespearean tragedy because of the familial conflicts. Who can guess why Sasuke wanted _Hamlet_ and Sakura _Romeo and Juliet _(those should be more obvious)?

**Author's Notes:** My March contest entry for DateMe (find the link to the group in my profile).

I have NO idea why I went with Shakespearean drama as my secondary theme, but that's what came to me as I got started. Maybe it's because I'm taking a break from my Brit Lit homework...?

Either way, I noticed that nobody has done a triangle involving a male love interest and a rival for Hinata, so that's why I chose HinaSasuSaku.

I haven't written in Sakura's POV much before (just for a few chapters of "Speak Up"), soo...yeah. Tell me where I can improve.

_**. ( . Ms Videl Son . ) .**_

– _Love can be black and white. SasuHina._


	7. Three Cinnamon Rolls by gracemis

**Title: **Three Cinnamon Rolls**  
Author:** gracemis**  
Rating:** PG-13 ( T )**  
Challenge:** Triangulation**  
Pairing:** NaruHinaSai

We ask that you PLEASE refrain from reviewing this story here. If you would like to do so, the original is posted right here on ff. net in gracemis' (also gracemis on DA) personal profile.

**Author's note:** This is written for the March theme for the Date Me competition. Totally un-beta-ed and barely edited, feel free to let me know my mistakes. I wrote this in one sitting, so it's pretty simple. Perhaps even stupid. Cheers.

* * *

Hinata held the boxes tightly.

Hinata sighed. She had been training since dawn with Neji before attending to her regular duties. On her way to the Team 8 training grounds, she had been sidetracked by the lovely smells from the bakery. When she had seen the fresh warm cinnamon rolls in the bakery window, she had run in and bought three. One for herself, one for Kiba and one for Shino. But she had forgotten that Kiba and Akamaru were training with his family and Shino was returning much later today from a mission.

So she had three cinnamon rolls and no teammates to share them with. Kurenai would not be interested in the sticky treat. Since her pregnancy, Kurenai-sensei seemed to crave more savory foods…like barbeque.

Hinata was pleasantly surprised and happy when she saw that Team Kakashi was also at the Team 8 training grounds. Team Kurenai and Team Kakashi had been on several missions together. Sometimes Kakashi-san asked Kurenai to provide additional genjutsu training.

Hinata set aside of the cinnamon rolls in the shade with their other gear and joined them for the morning training. Sakura would probably not be interested in the rich sweet pastry, but perhaps Naruto and Sai would enjoy her favorite treat during a break.

A few hours later, Sai peered with curiosity at the bakery box held in front of him.

"Ah, Sai-san. Would you like one?" She asked shyly. Her face a held a light pink blush.

Naruto greedily ate his cinnamon roll in a few bites. "This is great Hinata-chan! Thanks!" Naruto made a point of licking his fingers.

"Disgusting Naruto-kun." Sai commented. Hinata nearly dropped the box.

"Idiot! Just try it. Sai-teme." Naruto glared angrily at the expressionless nin. "Heh…heh Hinata-chan. He didn't mean the cinnamon rolls. He just meant me!" He explained to the embarrassed Hyuuga.

"It-It's okay Naruto-kun. Sai-san you don't have to eat it if you don't want it." Hinata put down the box she had offered.

Sai nodded and drank from his water container.

Hinata turned to enjoy her own cinnamon roll. She blushed again at all the fuss that Naruto was making. But it was nice that he was paying attention to her feelings. Naruto really seemed to notice her now that they had shared a few missions. They were getting to know each other better.

But Sai was strange. As a Hyuuga, Hinata could read expressionless faces pretty well. Sai was a challenge, even for her. Sometimes she thought that she could see the same uncertainty and hope and despair that all shinobi held in their hearts. Other times it seemed liked he was just going through the motions of living life.

Naruto scolded as Sai as he opened his sketchbook and pulled out his drawing materials. "You made her feel bad for offering you something nice." He hissed.

Sai looked up at Hinata as her took another bit of her treat. He gave a fake smile. "Thank you Hinata-san for your offer." Sai apologized insincerely.

"Th-That's okay." Hinata stuttered. "Um. Not everyone likes sweets." She squirmed uncomfortably under Sai's fake smile and expressionless eyes.

"You are too sweet Hinata-chan." Naruto commented. "Sai! You should at least TRY it!"

Sai looked at Naruto. Dickless was going to keep nagging him. Sai looked at Hinata. She was carefully taking small bites and clearly enjoying her cinnamon roll. Sai looked at the box next to Hinata on the ground. The unwanted sweet pastry looked completely unappetizing to him.

But Naruto was right to encourage him to try new things. To try to live his life and enjoy friends and food (mostly different types of ramen.)

"Hinata-san." Sai said as he moved to sit next to the shy girl. "I'll try a small taste." He said.

"O-Okay." Hinata replied. She smiled, pleased that he was going to try it. She guessed he wanted a bit of hers rather then a whole cinnamon roll.

Hinata pulled a small piece off her roll and offered it to him.

She nearly passed out when Sai took the food into his mouth and licked her fingers.

Hinata sat very very still. In shock. Sai ate the piece of roll and then went back to lick her fingers again.

The taste of the sweet frosting combined with the texture of her fingertips was quite interesting. Her fingertips were calloused from her taijutsu. But her shocked expression and wide eyes made him smile. A genuine smile.

There was only a moment when their eyes met, before Sai leaped out of the way of Naruto fist.

"Sai, you bastard! How dare you take advantage of Hinata-chan?" Naruto fumed as he chased Sai into the tree. It was the tree that they had been sitting under.

Several leaves floated down as Naruto's fist connected with a branch.

Hinata shook herself out of her daze and shout up to her sometimes teammates. "Naruto-kun! Please stop! It's okay!"

She was startled when Sai dropped down next to her. "Thank you Hinata-san." Sai said as Naruto dropped down next them. Hinata positioned herself between the two.

"It-It's okay Naruto-kun. I-I don't think Sai-san, meant any harm." Hinata said quickly to calm the blonde boy down. She was a little thrilled that Naruto was cared so much. And Sai's genuine smile lingered in her mind. It was a worth a little embarrassment.

Sai sat down abruptly when he sensed that Naruto was not going to attack him again. "Actually, Hinata-san. I think I like this…cinnamon roll." He paused over the unfamiliar word.

"Oh." Hinata replied. "You-you can still have one if you want." She offered.

Naruto glared at his emotionally stunned teammate and decided to walk away and find Sakura. Maybe she could explain things to the idiot. It seemed like Hinata didn't mind him too much.

It was a good thing that Naruto was out of earshot when Sai said to Hinata. "It really tastes so much better when I can lick your fingers too."

Owari


End file.
